Fields of Heaven
by Lamia of the Dark
Summary: Being one of the biggest proponents of the Interspecies Exchange Bill, Lory Takarada signs up all of his employees as exchange hosts... without their knowledge or permission. harpy!Kyoko. lamia!Kanae. Main pairings: Ren/Kyoko & Yashiro/Kanae.
1. Surprise! Meet Your Monster Girl

**DISCLAIMER: Skip Beat! belongs to Yoshiki Nakamura. MonMusu belongs to Okayado.**

 **A/N: I had a muse attack while FFN was down the other day, and this fic was born... The story will focus on Skip Beat characters in the MonMusu universe. Some of the SB characters' personal histories have been altered due to them being mon in this AU.**

 **Any personality alterations can be attributed to the species traits of mon, or to this being a crackfic... that said, please don't take this too seriously, even if the first few chapters do slide more toward drama than humor.**

~ Fields of Heaven ~

Ren and Yashiro made their way to the president's office, not suspecting anything particularly out of the ordinary. They assumed the meeting was probably just a new job offer for Ren.

When they entered the president's office, confetti rained down on them. The room was decorated with copious amounts of streamers and balloons.

"Congratulations, you two! You've both been approved as hosts for the Interspecies Exchange Homestay Program!" Lory announced happily.

Yashiro was the first to regain his wits enough to speak, although his response was not entirely coherent.

"We... what?"

"You're each going to be acting as the host family for a non-human," Lory explained. "I took the liberty of signing up all my employees to participate in the Interspecies Exchange Program."

"Without _telling_ any of us?" Ren spoke up. "What if we don't _want_ to-"

"Then you're fired," Lory replied, without waiting for Ren to finish the question.

The actor stared at him slack-jawed for a moment before protesting, "But-"

"Too late," the president interrupted him again. "Consider it part of your job."

"But why-"

"Because I said so!" Lory snapped, losing his temper a bit. "And Ren, your girl is an emergency placement who was kicked out by her previous host family, so I expect you to be nice to her."

Ren pouted at the implication, and grumbled, "I'm always nice."

* * *

During Ren and Lory's conversation, Agent Smith introduced herself to Yashiro and had him start filling out the homestay paperwork.

While he was surprised at the current turn of events, Yashiro was determined to make the best of the situation.

"Any questions?" Smith asked the bespectacled manager as he flipped through the the huge stack of forms.

"Just one," Yashiro replied. "What species is the person who will be staying with me?"

"Ah, you're lucky," she said with a smirk. "She's a lamia."

"Lamia... those are snake people, right? But why would having a lamia as my interspecies guest make me lucky?"

"There are no male lamias. They can only reproduce by mating with human males. And the Interspecies Relation Laws were recently altered so that humans and other species can intermarry, so if you and your girl get along... well." Smith clapped Yashiro on the shoulder. "Good luck!"

* * *

Since their apartments were 'not appropriate environments' for their new house-guests, Ren and Yashiro were both moved into a house that was owned by LME. It had formerly been used for filming a TV drama, but was not currently being used as part of any projects and had been remodeled to accommodate the needs of the non-humans who would be living there.

Yashiro was the first to arrive at their new home. Agent Smith brought him to the house to meet the girls while Ren was still arguing with Lory and trying to get out of being a homestay host.

He was surprised to be greeted at the door by a cute girl with huge red wings sprouting from her back. On second glance he noticed that her legs from the knee down were scaled like a bird's, ending in three-toed feet with huge black talons. The rest of her appeared entirely human, although her eyes were a curious shade of gold.

"Welcome home, Master!" she chirped cheerfully, dropping into a deep bow. The weight of her wings almost caused her to fall on her face when she bowed, and she quickly stood up straight again, blushing at her mistake.

"HEY!" shouted a surly voice form further inside the house, and Yashiro recoiled a bit as the owner of the voice slithered into sight. Long black hair hung down slightly past the point where her human waist connected to the huge cerulean-scaled snake tail. Even twisted in anger, her facial features were strikingly beautiful. "Your human isn't here yet!" she snapped, looming ominously over the tiny harpy girl. "This one is _mine_!"

She latched onto Yashiro possessively, wrapping him in her coils.

Smith-san had told him on their way here that lamias were notoriously possessive... but if his current position was anything to go by, that had been a massive understatement.

"Kanae-chan?" he said hesitantly.

"Oh, sorry," the lamia said, loosening her coils and settling her tail on the floor. "Was it too tight?"

"No, no," he rushed to reassure her. "I just... am... shy...?" he finished uncertainly.

The lamia snorted in response.

"You suck at lying, Yuki."

 _She's calling me by a nickname already, and with no honorifics... this all feels like it's happening too fast. And I'm sure things will only get more complicated once Ren gets here. I wonder if he'll manage to talk his way out of it... Wait! If Ren successfully talks his way out of being involved in the interspecies homestay, does that mean I'm going to be responsible for both of these girls? And speaking of both girls, where did that harpy go?_

~to be continued~


	2. Welcome Home, My Prince

~ Fields of Heaven ~

"I don't know how you expect me to take care of an otherspecies creature when I'm so busy," Ren said.

Lory sighed heavily. He was tired of arguing with the actor. He had known Ren would be opposed to being a part of the Interspecies Exchange Program, but he hadn't realized exactly _how much_ Ren would hate the idea of being forced into living with a non-human.

"She's not a pet, Ren. She can take care of herself. And she will probably take better care of _you_ than you do yourself."

"I don't need you find a girlfriend for me," Ren snarled. "I especially don't need a complication in my life such as being part of this interspecies mating scheme!"

"During this transitory period, it's important for other species to successfully integrate into human society," Lory explained. "It's not required for you to marry the girl, or even be in that kind of relationship. Your job is to help her get used to living among humans."

"Why can't you understand that I just don't want any part of this?"

"If you don't want to help, _fine_. Go back to your apartment and sulk, and let the poor girl who thought she was getting a new host family be disappointed that no one wants her..."

* * *

It wasn't until after the president revealed that the girl Ren had been assigned was a harpy that the actor finally allowed himself to give in.

"Idiot," he said to himself as he started his car. "It's not like it will be the same one."

 _"Are you a fairy?"_

 _"I... no. No. I-I'm..." the tiny girl stammered, folding her wings behind her back as if trying to hide them. She couldn't hide them, though; they were too large to be concealed completely even when she tucked them as tightly against her back as possible. "I'm a harpy," she whispered._

 _She seemed ashamed to admit her species, almost as if she expected to be treated badly because of what she was._

 _She looked up at him, lashes glittering with unshed tears._

 _"You're... human, right?" she asked shyly._

 _"I am," he answered, and her face fell. "But my mother is a lamia."_

 _The harpy perked up at that._

 _"Lamias are female only, so if they have a boy child he's born human," she said. "It's the same way for harpies."_

 _He did not mention that his family was the reason he was bullied by children who had two fully human parents. Even though his dad was a famous actor, and his parents genuinely loved each other, the general public was still so biased against otherspecies... Mom hadn't even been allowed to come with them on this vacation, because interspecies marriages were still illegal in Japan._

 _He went back to the forest every day after that to play with the little harpy girl, but on the fourth day she never showed up at their usual meeting spot, even though he waited for her until nearly sunset. The day after that, dad took him back home. He never saw the little harpy girl again and whenever he thought back to that time, he was afraid of what may have happened to her..._

"It can't be her," Ren told himself. "It would have to be one hell of a coincidence if she was the same girl."

He could probably find out the girl's name from the paperwork he'd been given, but the stack was so thick it would take forever to go through. He would find out quicker just by going to the house and meeting her.

* * *

Ren entered the house using the key he'd been given. The first thing he noticed was that it was dark inside.

 _No lights on? Is everyone in bed already? Isn't it a bit early in the evening for that?_ he wondered as he made his way deeper into the house.

He saw no signs of the harpy, Yashiro, or the second monstergirl - who must be a large species, judging by the wide hallways and generous spacing of the furniture.

 _Oh, well. It looks they all went to bed already. I guess I should eat something before I do the same myself._

When he flipped on the kitchen light, he was surprised to find the harpy slumped over the table, fast asleep. Dark crimson wings flared out behind her.

 _It can't be_...

He was so distracted by her wings that he didn't notice that dinner for two was laid out on the table. Well, it looked more suitable for four or five people (as long as one of them wasn't Kuu), but non-humans typically consumed at least twice as many calories as humans at each meal.

 _It can't be her_...

Red wasn't a common color for harpies' feathers - not in this region, at least. He knew because he had done extensive research on harpies after he got home from that fateful trip to Kyoto ten years ago.

He took another step into the room, wanting to get closer to get a look at the girl's face so that he could confirm it was not _her_. His shoe clacked loudly on the tiles. In his haste to find out where everyone else was, he'd forgotten to take them off.

At the sudden sound, the harpy snapped awake. He noticed that her hair was an odd copper color, cut in a choppy chin-length bob, and he was assuring himself that this girl was _definitely not her_ , when she turned to look at him and he found himself staring into familiar golden eyes.

"Kyoko-chan?" he blurted out.

"Oh, you're here! I was worried because you were so late!" She slid from the chair and dropped to her knees in front of him. "Welcome home, master!"

It seemed she didn't recognize him at all.

 _And why would she? I don't look or sound anything like I did back then. She must assume I found out her name from the coordinator. Then again, harpies are known for being scatterbrained, so maybe she wouldn't recognize me even if I were still 'Kuon'._

~to be continued~


	3. Getting to Know Your New Mon Girlfriend

**A/N: This chapter backtracks to what Yashiro and Kanae were doing before Ren got home.**

~ Fields of Heaven ~

"Where did the harpy go?" Yashiro murmured, half to himself.

"Dinner," Kanae replied flatly, and for a moment the human man's panicked mind pictured the lamia devouring the poor little harpy girl. At his wide-eyed look, she elaborated, "Kyoko went to finish fixing dinner."

"Oh..."

Yashiro felt like an idiot for assuming otherwise, but this situation was hardly typical and he couldn't _really_ be blamed for his thoughts going off in odd directions! He let out a heavy sigh, and it was almost as though his entire self deflated with this massive exhalation of air. His body sagged into the embrace of the still-clinging lamia, and she took the burden of his weight easily, shifting her hold on him so that she could stroke one hand through his hair comfortingly.

"So, uhhh... you want a tour of the house or something until the food is ready?" Kanae said, the uncertainty of her tone at odds with the casual familiarity with which she cradled him against her body.

Well, it would be nice to learn the layout of the place, since he'd be living here for the foreseeable future.

"Sure, that sounds like a plan."

Despite his words, he remained leaning limply against her. The lamia seemed to be in no hurry to let go of him, and he had to admit he rather enjoyed the feeling of being pressed against her this way, and the way her fingers combed through his hair. Maybe this whole Interspecies Exchange hosting thing wouldn't be so bad...

* * *

"And this is our bedroom," Kanae announced, flinging open the door to the room at the very end of the upstairs hallway. The bedroom was dominated by a bed that was larger than king-size. Even so, he wasn't sure it looked big enough to comfortably fit the entire tail of a lamia.

"Wait... did you say _our_ bedroom?"

"Yes, ours," she answered, scowling. "Didn't you read the file the coordinator gave you? Lamias are cold-blooded. If I'm not kept warm at night, I have a hard time getting up in the morning. Blankets are fine for warm-blooded creatures but they don't do much for me, so we're going to be sharing body heat. Do you have a problem with that?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

"No, no," he hastened to assure her. "I don't have a problem with it. That sounds..." He trailed off, blushing as thoughts of the way he'd been pressed up against her earlier bubbled up in his mind. Would she want to wrap him in her coils as they slept?

Her gaze softened as she watched him get lost in his own dirty thoughts for a moment.

* * *

During dinner, Yashiro noticed that Kanae's possessive behavior was ratcheted up in the presence of the other girl, even though Kyoko was polite to the point of being servile and exhibited zero signs of attraction toward him. The little harpy did nothing to deserve the lamia's ire, but pointing that out would most likely only further fuel her unfounded jealousy.

Yashiro tried to think of a way to diffuse to situation without setting off Kanae's temper, or offending the little harpy girl who was trying very hard to please both of them.

"Kanae-chan," Yashiro said, "I just remembered there was something that I wanted to watch coming on TV at eight. Why don't we go eat in the living room?" He stood and picked up his plate, leaving her little room to argue. "Kyoko-san, you aren't a servant here. Please sit down and eat."

He addressed her with a formal honorific rather than the affectionately familiar one by which he called the lamia.

The harpy plunked herself down in a chair at the human's suggestion, but he noticed that she did not begin to eat. Perhaps she was shy about eating in front of other people?

* * *

They settled themselves on the living room couch, Kanae holding both of their plates while Yashiro fiddled with the TV remote.

"So, what are we watching?" she asked, with an air of disinterest.

" _Forest of Spirals_ ," Yashiro replied distractedly as he tried to find the right channel. "It's the new drama that Ren is starring in."

"Ren... that's the same name as the guy who is supposed to be the host family for Kyoko. Are you telling me that the famous actor _Ren Tsuruga_ is going to be coming here to be with her?"

"Yes, the very same," Yashiro answered. "So now that you know who her companion is, do you think you could tone down the jealousy a bit? I highly doubt that she'll want to steal me away from you once she meets Ren. He tends to have that effect on women..."

"Hmph!" Kanae snorted. "Well, he won't have that effect on me! I appreciate his acting skills, of course, being an aspiring actress myself, but pretty faced playboys aren't my type."

Yashiro chose to ignore the insult to his client.

"Oh, you're an actress?" he inquired. "You should come to agency with me tomorrow and we'll see what can be done about getting you started working."

"Agency?"

"I work for LME."

"You're an actor?"

"Ha ha - me, an actor? No. I'm actually Ren's manager," he answered, laying the remote on the coffee table, having finally found the channel on which _Forest of Spirals_ was playing.

Kanae handed him his plate and they both began to eat.

~to be continued~


	4. First Night Home

**A/N: Just in case anyone was confused, Kyoko's wings are on her back, and she has normal human arms. She doesn't have wing-arms like Papi.**

~ Fields of Heaven ~

Ren felt vaguely horrified at the harpy's behavior.

"None of that," he said. "You're not a servant. Stand up."

"But, Master..." Kyoko protested, no doubt confused by him telling her she wasn't a servant and then in the same breath giving her an order.

"My name is Ren. Call me 'Ren', not 'Master'," he said, frowning as he strode to where she was kneeling on the cool tiles of the kitchen floor.

He leaned down and placed his hands on her elbows, gently pulling her to her feet. She was tiny. The top of her head barely came up to his chest.

"Ren-sama," she murmured, as if trying out the sound of it.

"No '-sama', either," the actor said, frowning. "Just 'Ren'."

"Ren," she repeated, blushing at the lack of formality.

"Yes, that's good," he said, resisting the urge to pat her on the head. Just because she was small and somewhat dimwitted didn't mean she should be treated like a child. Even though she could easily pass for younger, she was of marriageable age.

"OK! Let's start over from the beginning!" Kyoko exclaimed, hopping up and down in her excitement. She backed away from him a few steps and gave a quick, shallow bow. "Welcome home, Ren!"

Not knowing how else to respond, the actor smiled and said, "I'm home."

"Dinner is ready!" the harpy chirped. "Yashiro-san and Moko-san already ate and they went to bed a while ago, but I was waiting for you."

"Thank you for waiting," Ren said sincerely. "Let's eat."

He really didn't feel like eating, but he didn't want to upset the girl by refusing to join her for dinner after she had postponed her own meal so that they could dine together.

After dinner, Kyoko gave Ren a quick tour of the house and then they retired to their separate bedrooms for the night.

It was only when he starting to drift off that Ren realized he had forgotten to ask her what species the other non-human girl who lived with them was.

* * *

Agent Smith awakened suddenly, jerking upright in her chair.

She had fallen asleep at her desk and was now suffering from a quite horrendous case of Waffle Face from having spent several hours with her right cheek pressed firmly against her computer's keyboard.

"Hmm... what was I doing? Oh right, paperwork... Oh, well. It's just the routine stuff and I can finish filling it out tomorrow. It's _way_ past time for me to be out of here already," she said to herself as she quickly gathered her things, then left the office.

Of course, tomorrow she would have to deal with a phone call from a distraught middle-aged woman who was supposed to be the new host family for a mistreated otherspecies girl who had been scheduled for an emergency placement, but Smith had no way of knowing that.

A more competent Interspecies Exchange Coordinator (or at least one who was less lazy about filing their paperwork) would have most likely realized their mistake, but while Smith had the capacity to be competent when the situation called for it, she was also a fan of letting the universe sort out her personal failings rather than admitting that she'd made a mistake in the first place.

* * *

Kanae was awakened by the feeling of her prey - ahem, her _potential_ _future husband_ that is - shifting uncomfortably within the confines of her coils.

"What's wrong, Yuki?" she asked. "Do you need to go use the bathroom or something?"

"Ha ha, no," Yashiro answered with an embarrassed laugh. "I thought I heard something... but when I tried to get up, I couldn't... and I kind of panicked before I remembered..."

Kanae might have felt a bit insulted that he'd forgotten about her so quickly, but she had been disoriented upon waking up as well. It was a good thing she hadn't tightened her coils without thinking, or she might have seriously injured him!

"Huh... what you heard was probably just Tsuruga getting home, or him and the little harpy girl going to bed."

"You don't know which...?"

"Of course I don't. I slept through whatever you heard. I didn't wake up until you started thrashing."

"I was not _thrashing_."

"Then what would you call it? Flailing?"

"I wasn't flailing, either!"

"What are you so embarrassed about? So, you heard a sound in the middle of the night and panicked, so what?" He relaxed, relieved she didn't think him a coward, when she continued, "Don't worry, you have me to protect you."

~to be continued~


End file.
